Last week, Mason Moore gave us part one of his great festive tale, The Trainspotter's Grotto.
Mason is a 20-year-old student journalist who covers the town of Hinckley, Leicestershire with The Hinckley Free Press, a student-led news website which he co-founded.
One of Mason’s many original headlines was picked up by regional and national newspapers in England, and even made it over to The Daily Telegraph in Australia.
In the past, he has served as a magazine writer and columnist and worked alongside local newspapers in submitting original photographs and tips for regional journalists.
Here's the concluding part, but, if you want to catch up on Part One first...
Mason is a 20-year-old student journalist who covers the town of Hinckley, Leicestershire with The Hinckley Free Press, a student-led news website which he co-founded.
One of Mason’s many original headlines was picked up by regional and national newspapers in England, and even made it over to The Daily Telegraph in Australia.
In the past, he has served as a magazine writer and columnist and worked alongside local newspapers in submitting original photographs and tips for regional journalists.
Here's the concluding part, but, if you want to catch up on Part One first...
by Mason Moore
With just hours to spare before it turned 9 o'clock, Edward called the Council boss and explained that Lord Farley wanted to move Santa's Grotto to the train station to the steam locomotive passing through the tracks.
Council Boss, Tom Williams, said: "We'd be silly to say no! He's Mr. Moneybags and it would prove more popular with the children than ever before - I'll send the organisers to post a notice on the door right now, and we'll be in early in the morning to box up all of the decorations."
Edward couldn't even get a word in, he just thanked him, and jotted every little breath and word down with his teeline shorthand which he had used to graduate with his Journalism degree.
Edward called back Lord Farley and explained that the plans were indeed going ahead, he said "All is looking up. Consider it a done deal, now we've got to let Santa know, although we'll need to 'enroll the help of Santa's elves' to get our decorations on your train. You're working with the North Pole!"
"Why thank you for letting me know. Ha! Yes, if only Santa's elves could box things up and help us, what lifesavers they would be for us, I'd be forever grateful. See you tomorrow, then!", he proceeded to hang up.
He made the jape but it slipped his mind that Santa's head elf did actually call the newspaper editor himself earlier as he was so shocked that the North Pole wanted to work with him.
Edward had made all of his calls from home that evening, when he was even meant to be off-duty, but who'd say no to helping spread some Christmas cheer? He headed to bed, and called Santa Claus at half six in the morning.
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! went the noise of the vibrations before the ringtone chimed in for the North Pole phone: "Jingle Bells" played until Jasper the Elf working his early morning shift picked up the phone.
"Hello! I do hate to be your personal 'alarm clock', but today is the day! Give Santa an hour and then let him be on his way, for the railway owner millionaire boss is meeting Santa Claus and is hosting the Grotto on the loco'. The Council know, too!"
"Bye bye for now!", he hung up quickly and prepared himself for the day.
Coming off the over end of the phone in Lapland, Jasper ran on over to the big man himself, who was fast asleep in bed wearing his Christmas-themed pyjamas covered which were covered top to bottom in cartoon candy canes and gingerbread men. He was wearing his red night cap with the white bobble on top.
"Santa, Santa, get up, get up! You've got to go...now!"
"The Grotto is being hosted on the locomotive! The big businessman, Farley, wants to meet you!"
"Golly gosh! Oh wow! It's a Christmas miracle. The children will be delighted!" Santa exclaimed. Santa spent the morning practicing his best belly laughs - "Ho, ho, ho; ho, ho, ho!" ready to greet the children with.
He spent the morning eating his mince pie and cornflakes with a cup of tea before setting off, and he even packed himself a glass bottle of Coca-Cola ready for his trip over, whilst his head elves working the early morning shift awoke his reindeer for him as he got changed and donned his famous red uniform.
He took to the sky at seven o'clock ready to arrive for eight o’clock, just before it turned light at half eight.
He flew over whilst it was still dark in the morning and the early morning dog walkers, joggers and outdoor gym-goers had noticed a small spec in the sky.
Now, it wasn't a shooting star, shining star, or helicopter, it was making a rather loud noise and chiming with the sound of bells.
He arrived at 7:59 am, just in time for eight o'clock and parked the Sleigh on a historic piece of land, a private garden in a former stationmaster's house which was once used back in the 1800's, which is protected from the general public so it was the safest place to leave it, and Farley's company owns the land in the modern day.
Santa Claus had an hour to spare until he had to meet the children of Hinckley and got his head elf and practically his publicist at this point, Jasper, to send a press release explaining that the Grotto had moved in one big broadcast email to all of the townspeople.
He casually walked on through Castle Street and oh golly you could hear his big boots stomping from a mile away - thump, thump, thump.
He popped into a nearby red-coloured coffee chain branch and as soon as he worked through the doors, baristas were chattering about how much he 'looked like' Santa.. his deep voice boomed over the counter!
"Ho ho! One gingerbread cinnamon-topped latte, please! Oh, and I heard you back from the entrance because of my good ears...I 'look like' Santa because I AM Santa!"
He pulled out his official credentials, was about to pay for his coffee, but the fee was very generously waived because he was so notable and brings so much joy to the town.
Santa walked what would have a ten minute walk down the empty streets, but stopped himself in his steps where he sneaks a glance of where the Grotto was going to be in the cafe - the boxes had been moved - the elves off the back off the sleigh had been in, located where the loco was overnight and had decorated the inside as they can slip through the tiniest cracks, nooks, and crannies.
An Uber came screeching down the high-street a road away from him, the window rolled on down "I'd recognise you from anywhere...Hop in, Santa Claus! It'll be your first car share, it’s not a sleigh ride for once!"
It was Farley from London, who had taken a two-hour car ride that morning to meet up with Santa. Santa jumped in - they had got to the station and they were greeted by Edward with his notepad and pen.
Crowds started forming to their confusion once they arrived...they had checked - everyone had read the email broadcast, families were waking up, but more importantly, there was only ten minutes to go before the loco' came through to stop on the tracks! The time had flown on by...
With the ten minutes to spare, Edward pulled out his notepad and pen, interviewed Farley and Father Christmas using his shorthand abilities as well as his journalistic instinct, and interviewing techniques.
"Smile!", exclaimed Edward as the duo had their photograph taken on the railway station platform bridge.
They smiled for a photo together, made their way down the bridge and sure enough, a big cloud of steam came out the top of a locomotive with a big festive snowflake on the front of the circular badge.
The trio waited for the steam loco to stop and that it did - it stopped in its tracks and stayed on the line! "Wooo!" "Yaaay!" "Whoopie!", were just a few of the many cheers exclaimed by the young children and adults together in unison at the site of the Christmas loco passing through.
The doors opened - Santa was in shock, his jaw dropped - it was decorated with lifesize nutcrackers in each carriage, blankets of snow, plenty of presents all around for the young children to enjoy and have not just one present but two each, and, the elves had even set up their very own photo booth for selfies!
Santa boarded first and sat on down in his chair and complimentary cups of hot chocolate, and yummy treats like mince pies and yule logs were offered to the youngsters by Santa's elves were on offer.
Edward was taking photographs for the Tin Hat Journal and Farley was greeting the townspeople who were thanking him for the opportunity to board the exclusive and historic loco with Father Christmas.
Santa had met more people this year than those who visited just to see the loco pass through last year - he met a whopping total of over 500 people in the full hour and a half he was there early in the morning, and all of the children gave him a copy of their Christmas lists, so he was able to keep track of what to deliver to them the next night.
It had came to half 10 for the time that Santa Claus had to leave, he said "Goodbye!" and made sure that he would receive a copy of the Tin Hat Journal when he delivered presents to the Hinckleyans in the town on the night.
He waved goodbye to Edward, Farley and the Council Leader and the townspeople before boarding his sleigh.
Santa Claus headed home and made sure that he had his day off rest off before heading back out to the town where he had his numbered lists to deliver the correct presents to the right children in every household.
When he headed back over the next night in the middle of the night, Santa was surprised by his mince pies, brandy snaps, yule logs, cherry bakewells, biscuits, pints of beer, brandy and milk - it was an awful lot of food but he wasn't
complaining!
As for the children, everybody received exactly what they had asked for on the list when they met Santa Claus - the Council Leader even received a 'thank you' letter from the big bearded man in red himself, Edward, a snowflake-covered designed pen and notepad, and Farley, a toy train and signed photograph of himself of Santa...
Edward did successfully manage to get all of his columns and exclusive front page for the Tin Hat Journal for Santa Claus - it was the best-selling issue. He had left Santa Claus a copy out for night-time when he visited, alongside a pint of real ale.
Council Boss, Tom Williams, said: "We'd be silly to say no! He's Mr. Moneybags and it would prove more popular with the children than ever before - I'll send the organisers to post a notice on the door right now, and we'll be in early in the morning to box up all of the decorations."
Edward couldn't even get a word in, he just thanked him, and jotted every little breath and word down with his teeline shorthand which he had used to graduate with his Journalism degree.
Edward called back Lord Farley and explained that the plans were indeed going ahead, he said "All is looking up. Consider it a done deal, now we've got to let Santa know, although we'll need to 'enroll the help of Santa's elves' to get our decorations on your train. You're working with the North Pole!"
"Why thank you for letting me know. Ha! Yes, if only Santa's elves could box things up and help us, what lifesavers they would be for us, I'd be forever grateful. See you tomorrow, then!", he proceeded to hang up.
He made the jape but it slipped his mind that Santa's head elf did actually call the newspaper editor himself earlier as he was so shocked that the North Pole wanted to work with him.
Edward had made all of his calls from home that evening, when he was even meant to be off-duty, but who'd say no to helping spread some Christmas cheer? He headed to bed, and called Santa Claus at half six in the morning.
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! went the noise of the vibrations before the ringtone chimed in for the North Pole phone: "Jingle Bells" played until Jasper the Elf working his early morning shift picked up the phone.
"Hello! I do hate to be your personal 'alarm clock', but today is the day! Give Santa an hour and then let him be on his way, for the railway owner millionaire boss is meeting Santa Claus and is hosting the Grotto on the loco'. The Council know, too!"
"Bye bye for now!", he hung up quickly and prepared himself for the day.
Coming off the over end of the phone in Lapland, Jasper ran on over to the big man himself, who was fast asleep in bed wearing his Christmas-themed pyjamas covered which were covered top to bottom in cartoon candy canes and gingerbread men. He was wearing his red night cap with the white bobble on top.
"Santa, Santa, get up, get up! You've got to go...now!"
"The Grotto is being hosted on the locomotive! The big businessman, Farley, wants to meet you!"
"Golly gosh! Oh wow! It's a Christmas miracle. The children will be delighted!" Santa exclaimed. Santa spent the morning practicing his best belly laughs - "Ho, ho, ho; ho, ho, ho!" ready to greet the children with.
He spent the morning eating his mince pie and cornflakes with a cup of tea before setting off, and he even packed himself a glass bottle of Coca-Cola ready for his trip over, whilst his head elves working the early morning shift awoke his reindeer for him as he got changed and donned his famous red uniform.
He took to the sky at seven o'clock ready to arrive for eight o’clock, just before it turned light at half eight.
He flew over whilst it was still dark in the morning and the early morning dog walkers, joggers and outdoor gym-goers had noticed a small spec in the sky.
Now, it wasn't a shooting star, shining star, or helicopter, it was making a rather loud noise and chiming with the sound of bells.
He arrived at 7:59 am, just in time for eight o'clock and parked the Sleigh on a historic piece of land, a private garden in a former stationmaster's house which was once used back in the 1800's, which is protected from the general public so it was the safest place to leave it, and Farley's company owns the land in the modern day.
Santa Claus had an hour to spare until he had to meet the children of Hinckley and got his head elf and practically his publicist at this point, Jasper, to send a press release explaining that the Grotto had moved in one big broadcast email to all of the townspeople.
He casually walked on through Castle Street and oh golly you could hear his big boots stomping from a mile away - thump, thump, thump.
He popped into a nearby red-coloured coffee chain branch and as soon as he worked through the doors, baristas were chattering about how much he 'looked like' Santa.. his deep voice boomed over the counter!
"Ho ho! One gingerbread cinnamon-topped latte, please! Oh, and I heard you back from the entrance because of my good ears...I 'look like' Santa because I AM Santa!"
He pulled out his official credentials, was about to pay for his coffee, but the fee was very generously waived because he was so notable and brings so much joy to the town.
Santa walked what would have a ten minute walk down the empty streets, but stopped himself in his steps where he sneaks a glance of where the Grotto was going to be in the cafe - the boxes had been moved - the elves off the back off the sleigh had been in, located where the loco was overnight and had decorated the inside as they can slip through the tiniest cracks, nooks, and crannies.
An Uber came screeching down the high-street a road away from him, the window rolled on down "I'd recognise you from anywhere...Hop in, Santa Claus! It'll be your first car share, it’s not a sleigh ride for once!"
It was Farley from London, who had taken a two-hour car ride that morning to meet up with Santa. Santa jumped in - they had got to the station and they were greeted by Edward with his notepad and pen.
Crowds started forming to their confusion once they arrived...they had checked - everyone had read the email broadcast, families were waking up, but more importantly, there was only ten minutes to go before the loco' came through to stop on the tracks! The time had flown on by...
With the ten minutes to spare, Edward pulled out his notepad and pen, interviewed Farley and Father Christmas using his shorthand abilities as well as his journalistic instinct, and interviewing techniques.
"Smile!", exclaimed Edward as the duo had their photograph taken on the railway station platform bridge.
They smiled for a photo together, made their way down the bridge and sure enough, a big cloud of steam came out the top of a locomotive with a big festive snowflake on the front of the circular badge.
The trio waited for the steam loco to stop and that it did - it stopped in its tracks and stayed on the line! "Wooo!" "Yaaay!" "Whoopie!", were just a few of the many cheers exclaimed by the young children and adults together in unison at the site of the Christmas loco passing through.
The doors opened - Santa was in shock, his jaw dropped - it was decorated with lifesize nutcrackers in each carriage, blankets of snow, plenty of presents all around for the young children to enjoy and have not just one present but two each, and, the elves had even set up their very own photo booth for selfies!
Santa boarded first and sat on down in his chair and complimentary cups of hot chocolate, and yummy treats like mince pies and yule logs were offered to the youngsters by Santa's elves were on offer.
Edward was taking photographs for the Tin Hat Journal and Farley was greeting the townspeople who were thanking him for the opportunity to board the exclusive and historic loco with Father Christmas.
Santa had met more people this year than those who visited just to see the loco pass through last year - he met a whopping total of over 500 people in the full hour and a half he was there early in the morning, and all of the children gave him a copy of their Christmas lists, so he was able to keep track of what to deliver to them the next night.
It had came to half 10 for the time that Santa Claus had to leave, he said "Goodbye!" and made sure that he would receive a copy of the Tin Hat Journal when he delivered presents to the Hinckleyans in the town on the night.
He waved goodbye to Edward, Farley and the Council Leader and the townspeople before boarding his sleigh.
Santa Claus headed home and made sure that he had his day off rest off before heading back out to the town where he had his numbered lists to deliver the correct presents to the right children in every household.
When he headed back over the next night in the middle of the night, Santa was surprised by his mince pies, brandy snaps, yule logs, cherry bakewells, biscuits, pints of beer, brandy and milk - it was an awful lot of food but he wasn't
complaining!
As for the children, everybody received exactly what they had asked for on the list when they met Santa Claus - the Council Leader even received a 'thank you' letter from the big bearded man in red himself, Edward, a snowflake-covered designed pen and notepad, and Farley, a toy train and signed photograph of himself of Santa...
Edward did successfully manage to get all of his columns and exclusive front page for the Tin Hat Journal for Santa Claus - it was the best-selling issue. He had left Santa Claus a copy out for night-time when he visited, alongside a pint of real ale.
The End
Merry Christmas
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